Sixty-nine nonprofit organizations across the United States and Canada will receive pro bono marketing services this week through CreateAthon, a 24-hour pro bono marketing marathon to be held in nine cities on October 23 and 24 as part of Pro Bono Week, a global celebration of skills-based volunteerism and the impact it can have on the social sector.

Founded by Riggs Partners in Columbia, South Carolina in 1997, CreateAthon is one of the marketing industry’s leading pro bono programs. As CreateAthon partners, marketing agencies, universities, corporations and professional clubs donate their time and talent by holding 24-hour marathons during which professionals and students develop marketing strategies and creative materials that can help nonprofit organizations meet specific marketing objectives. Deliverables take the form of branding initiatives; marketing, public relations and fundraising plans; creative materials in print, digital, and broadcast formats; and more.

Since its founding, CreateAthon has grown from a single-market event in Columbia, SC to a 501(c)(3) organization based in Richmond, VA that has attracted more than 99 marketing agencies, universities, corporations and professional clubs as official CreateAthon partners. This year, 26 CreateAthon partners will hold pro bono marathons in their respective markets. Cumulatively, CreateAthon has helped more than 1,600 nonprofit organizations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom by delivering approximately 3,500 pro bono marketing projects with a market value of $16.7 million.

CreateAthon partners select their own local clients from an application process that is open to nonprofit organizations in the partner’s CreateAthon market. The CreateAthon partners and the nonprofits they will serve during Pro Bono Week include:

Kitchener, Ontario – Two Blonde Chicks, Inc. and Conestoga College
• The Literacy Group of Waterloo Region
• Langs
• Family Counselling Centre of Cambridge and North Dumfries
• Lisaard House
• Wilmot Family Resource Centre Inc.
• House of Friendship
• KidSport